Police called as Le Creuset sale dishes out traffic chaos

One hundred years after two Belgian industrialists first "cracked the code" to enamelling cast-iron and created the first Le Creuset cocotte, the highly covetable cookware brand continues to grace the middle-class kitchen.

- Caroline Davies

With prices reflecting its status, however, fans are always on the lookout for bargains for the range, which is still made in the original foundry established in 1925 in Fresnoy-le-Grand, two hours north of Paris.

So when the company announced a sale at its warehouse in Andover, Hampshire, at the weekend, demand was expected to be high, though few would have predicted just how high.